Comparator



May 17, 1932. A. J. HALL 1,859,035

COMPARATOR Filed Deo. 19, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 465/ Imfeni or' )ifi/uf J IML May 17, 1932.

v v`.. J. HALL MPARAToR Filed Dec. 19. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 )ww mw Patented May 17, 1932 PATENT o1-rien A .Rmnim J. HALL, .on .APPLE'rorL WISCONSIN Y SCQMPARATOB Application ledlecember 19, 1929. Serial No..i115;244.

'The invention .relates to .comparators :and particularly to a Vdevice :tor displaying water before and after it passes through the various stages :of purification.

f It is :an object 'of the 'invention .to 'provide a device :of the character .referred to for effecting a display :of .the water beingpuried as it passes through each of the various stages of filtrati-on toenablethe opera-torto ascertain at :a glance, the v-iufncti@nien-g of Ithe water purification plant. l

' Another object -of the `invention `is to vprovide an Aimp-rovec lcomparator :of ithe lcharacter referredfto for indicating Ito theoperator the percentage -off ocor'preoipitate which has been removed after the `addition off a coaguiant. l

Another object of the invention ist@ pr-ovide fa-n improved comparator of the 5charac- -z'o'ter r'eferred to having "means for disclosing any 'inconsistencies in kthe -ilteringpro'cesa thereby eecting a material reduction in the operating lcost and increased `operating efciency. 1

Another -ohect 'o-f the invention 'is f to provide 4an improved comparator which may loe inexpensively incorporated in a water filteringsysltem without interfering `w-i-lh the functionsY of, .or lrequiring yextensive changes in, 13e .said system. y

The foregoing andsuch 'other V'objects of the invention vas willl appearhereinafterxas the, description jproceeds, wilfl'bejmore readily'undjers'tood from a'perusal of the ,-fo'lilow- 735 ing'specification, reference being had ltto lthe accompanying drawingsl,lin' which.: l

j `FigQlis aperspectiveview ofthe improved ,GOmpalaton 1 i Fig. 21's a transverseVerticalsectional'view 40 l'throughLthe comparator. V y

vFig. 3 l"is a'l lon 'tudinal sectional view through the device. K

'Fig. ..4 is ahorzontal sectional view taken A, Vstilostantially on line 4 4 of 3.

45 Y VLFig. '5 is a diagrammatic view showing the piping connecting the comparator with 'a *filtering system. v

lThere -afre "three distinct stages ithrough which water .must pass 'in the 4pr-'ocessfoff puri- 50 viication; namely, the Vstage lini-which acoagulantzis zadded tothe raw waterfto aid the `for-V vmation'.:.of oc; .the water A sefit'lfin'g stage, and

finally :the filtering stage. Since :the fhealth and :general welfare 'of the community :is ldependent upon its'water supply., ythe success.- 55 ful .operationof :a Water .purification plant -is veryessential. As rvvind conditions, :rai-n fall,

and .other unavoidable :causes changethecharaoter of the raw water, .it .is lvery important that the operator .can at all times fascertain ,er the characterof the `water after iat-has passed thronghfany aor all :of the various stages.

The .improved :comparator is :adaptedJtobe connected with the purification :systemfin -zsuoh a manner that a portion ofthe raw vwater 'es entering the systemis :madevisib'le to theoperator so thathe can immediately note :any character change ath-at .mayzhavezxtaken place. The raw water inlet-.line .is preferablyztapped Ajust beyond thepoint where the coagulant .is '1249 injected into .the system, thais the operator to .seeethe state .of coagulation and make :certain .that coagulation always 'takes place.l lAfter .the water .has Ypassed through the settling ichamber `the fiikterling system, 7.5 aqnantity of` it is made visifbleto thfe operator to .show lnrnthe settlingiefciency pf fthe settling .basin :and fto ienabfle him sto :see :ait :a glance whether thev floc or precipitata-amd color has beenremoved. Another'tapi's made (so -near `t'hetoirtlet .of l)the iilterinfg system. to en- -alble the .operator .to 4ootethe condition :of .the -wafter :as 'it .passes into' the mains.

Roter-ning lin detail :to fthe 'vazriaous figures in fthe drawings, a substantially rectangular 4.85 'cabinet .11,is lprovidednpon which-istallat- .ably' A:mounted three transplareni'J fcorn'pantments 12, 13, and 14. Water in its various vstages lis admitted -to each orf these compart ments during the :tiltrat-ion xprocess,.the :compartment i12 `being .adapted fto. l.contain tered water; :compartment 1f3,ssettled water; and Icompantmentf141-, the maw .Wa-ter.,A

yRafwvWater is suppliieditofthe ifiltering system through fa :suitable inlet line 4VThe 95 .usuali coagulant 'iseinujzected .in regulated i quan tities in'tot'he frww :water 'inlet dine 15 through conduit 16-and the iwater,..th:ns prepared, `is pumped" into Ia settling. tank.v by i snitable pump 18. "Thejinletline 15;leading-to 100 pump 18 is preferably tapped to receive an inuent line 19 having a flexible connection vided with a suitable outlet 25 adjacent their upper ends, each having connection with a header 26 preferablyvarranged in the cabinet 11.

It will be noted that some of the prepared raw water entering the filtering system passes into compartment 14 and out again .through the drain 25 in a continuous stream. As the walls of the various compartments are preferably formed of plate glass, a continuous pic ture of the character of the treated raw water passes before the operator, whereby he may note the reaction, if any, taking place between the added coagulant and the raw water, and note the size of floc or precipitate thathas formed. By viewing compartment 13, through which a steady iiow of settled water is maintained, the operator can note how much of the floc or precipitate has been removed by the process of sedimentation. For the proper filtration of water the settled water should retain a small percentage of the fioc, to aid the removal vof fine particles left in the water after sedimentation, and to assist in removing any remaining bacteria. By passing the filtered water through compartment 12 the Y operatorV can ascertain whether the water is free from color and precipitate, which indicates whether or not the plant is functioning. properly. Any ineiiiciency in theseveral processes of filtration is immediately exposed in the improved comparator. A

To add visibility to the water in the various compartments, it is desirable to arrange a plurality of lamps 27 beneath the compartments. In the drawings one such lamp is shown beneath each compartment and a white vitrolite plate 28 is angularly arranged in the cabinet 11 beneath said lights for directing the light rays upwardly through the Water.

To provide for the cleansing of compartments 12, 13, and 14, a suitable valve 29 is provided in each of the iniiuent lines 19, 22, and 24, which, when closed, cut off the flow of water to the respective compartments. A header 31 having connection, by pipe 32, with header 26, connects lines 19, 22, and 24, above valves 29. The header 31 is also provided with suitable valves 33 whereby drainage of water from the tanks is effected while said valves are open and valves 29 closed. During the operation of the comparator the valves 33 are closed and valves 29 are open.

From the foregoing description it can readily be understood that the improved comparator provides means whereby a sample specimen of the prepared raw water, settled water, and ltered water, may be viewed or obtained at any time during the operation of the filtering system. Water that has not been properly treated, as for example, if not enough coagulant has been added, will not show any reaction in compartment 14 thereby indicating to the operator that more coagulant must be added. If too much coagulant has been added, the water, passin through compartment 14, shows a large an heavy precipitate, thus indicating the necessity ofreducing the amount of coagulant. Comparison of the water in the settling compartment 13 and raw water compartment 14 enables the operator to ascertain the eliiciency of the various stages of filtration.

The comparator may be arranged at any suitable location in the filtering system, but it is preferable thatit be situated where most convenient to the operator and where it can be viewed by visitors to the plant as well. As the operator lhas a full understanding of the functioning of the filtering system he can readily remedy any case of ineliiciency as effected by changing water conditions, thus the operating costs of the filtering plant can be reduced to aminimum.

Although an exemplary form of the improved comparator is shown in detail in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing specification, it is readily understood that the comparator is capable of embodying various modifications in detail structure without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I'claim:

1. A comparator for a filtering system, comprising, a cabinet, a plurality of transparent compartments arranged above said cabinet; an inliuent line connecting each of said compartments with a different part of Vsaid filtering system; each of said compartments having an outlet whereby a continuous flow of water therethrough is maintained; a plurality of lights arranged in said cabinet below said compartments;A and a light deflector angularly arranged in saidcabinet for directing the light rays upwardly rearwardly through said compartments to increase the visibility through the water passing through said compartments.

2k. An apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a cabinet, a plurality of transparent sealed compartments vmounted on saidpcabinet, each compartment being connected by flexible iniiuent lines with different parts of a filtering system, an out- 

